hypotheticalhurricanesfandomcom-20200216-history
Tropical Storm Teagan (2024 - MH)
Tropical Storm Teagan was a very weak tropical storm that formed in the very end of the month of November. It was the last tropical cyclone of the 2024 Pacific hurricane season, although it is debated if Teagan even had a closed circulation. The tropical storm had a very short life, lasting only 12 hours between November 29 and November 30. The storm had a high pressure of 1011 millibars at peak; winds only barely reached tropical storm strength. After peak, Teagan rapidly opened up into a tropical wave due to a hostile environment. No land areas were affected as Teagan was over the far open Pacific about halfway to Hawaii. This was the first instance of Teagan's usage in the East Pacific following the retirement of Tara after the 2018 season. Meteorological History The remnants of the late season Hurricane Oscar crossed over into the East Pacific from the Atlantic on November 17. They slowly progressed to the west without much organization. As it was late in the season, wind shear had a firm control over the basin. Before Teagan's formation, the last storm, Sergio, formed in mid-October. Following Sergio, tropical waves had been sheared apart before being able to achieve tropical cyclone status. However, the NHC took note that convection appeared to be persisting around the circulation of pre-Teagan remarkably well, albeit messy. Because of this, the Center designated the wave as Invest 97E. The low pressure area came under the influence of a high pressure to the southwest and an upper level low to the northeast, and began to turn sharply northward. Unexpectedly, the system apparently rapidly organized and advisories were hastily initiated on Tropical Depression Twenty at 21:00 UTC on the 29 of November. A mere 6 hours later the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and was named Teagan. Upon upgrade, Teagan immediately peaked with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and with an estimated barometric pressure of 1011 millibars. Shortly after, the shear coming from the ULL began to overpower the circulation, and it quickly collapsed. By 09:00 UTC on November 30, all that remained of Teagan was a weak low-level swirl that headed onwards into the Central Pacific. Reception There was significant public outcry in the meteorological community following the naming of Teagan. Some argued that the storm did not have a closed circulation and hence was not a tropical cyclone. Another major point of criticism was the fact that there was a significant lack of official data from the tropical storm; there were no recorded observations of conditions at the center. All intensity estimates were reportedly taken from satellite data and Dvorak values, neither of which even suggested the existence of a tropical depression or storm. Two weeks later, a video was leaked that showed the NHC forecasters highly intoxicated at the time of Twenty's formation. This further strengthened the belief that Teagan was never a tropical system, and that perhaps the classification was a "joke act" by the forecasters. These speculations were confirmed when, in another video, an anonymous forecaster can be heard saying: Following the release of the second video, a federal investigation into the National Hurricane Center was launched. Three forecasters were found responsible and were tried on the grounds of misinformation. Mysteriously, Tropical Storm Teagan was never removed from the NHC's records despite the incident and remains an official tropical storm to this day. Category:Money Hurricane